Drop the WorldHold Close
by Shelbyallison
Summary: This is purely my imagination after seeing the Degrassi: In Too Deep Promo. Don't take what I write seriously.


**Auhor's note: I do not own Degrassi, Epitome, Teennick or Much Music. This is what happens when you give me promos, this is some of my imagination, some prediction. Enjoy :)**

It has been a hard few days for both Eli and Clare. It nearing that date Eli has been dreading, the date that marks the two-year anniversary of Julia's death. This has been hard for both of them. For Eli, it sends him back in a spiral. He always beats himself up about it anyways, but when April rolls around, it makes it even harder for him. He can never stop thinking about what would happen if that fight never happened, if he would have just stopped her from riding off, told her one last time how much he loved her. He regrets everyday that they ended like that. Why did he have to keep arguing with her? Why couldn't he have admitted that she was right? He knew that his stubbornness would bite him in the end, but he didn't expect it to be like that. Why did he have to be so stubborn? What made it even worse for Eli was the fact that Fitz was back at school, and seemed to try to play nice with Clare. Eli had this burning feeling that Fitz was doing this just to piss him off. He normally wouldn't mind, it was one thing for Fitz to mess with him, but he hated that Clare was pulled into the middle of it. Her heart of gold and trust in everyone could be the cause of her demise.

Eli was sitting on one of the picnic tables outside of the school, lost in his own thoughts. He was reminiscing about Julia and what went wrong, wishing he could go back to the time right before the fight. He started thinking about Clare. He knew these thoughts about Julia would do nothing to bring her back. He also knew that all of his thoughts about Julia weren't good for Clare. He was happy with Clare; she was the first girl he let in since Julia's death. His thoughts started to wander from Julia and back to Clare. He thought about how good-natured she was, and how happy he was that she was always there for him, but still allowed him his space. She always tried to keep him centered, which he needed. These thoughts eventually made there way to Fitz. How horribly he treated him and Adam, and how much he wished Fitz had stabbed him. He didn't want to have to battle with his thoughts about Julia or trying to get a one up on Fitz. He knew that it would have torn Clare apart if he did indeed get stabbed, but he still couldn't have helped to wish it every now and again. All of these thoughts were taking a toll on him, and was causing him to retreat deeper and deeper into his own mind.

Clare was on her way into the school. She actually made it halfway up the steps before she had a voice in her head tell her to turn around. When she happened to look back, her gaze skimmed over to the set of picnic tables, and finally settled on Eli, who looked a bit distant, like he was daydreaming. She hurried back down the steps and walked over to him. She didn't want to surprise him too much, so she walked in front of him before saying hello. She gently placed her had on his shoulder, trying to pull him out of his daydream.

"Hey, Eli, What's going on in your mind right now?" Clare asked gently, but Eli just shook his head, "Come on Eli, you can't keep it all inside."

Eli sat there for a few more moments, before letting out a sigh, "Just… getting caught up in my thoughts again."

Clare leaned down and kissed Eli gently on the lips. A faint smile crossed his lips before he said, a little more cheerful, "You will always be here to pull me out of my thoughts, won't you?" Clare just smiled and nodded, sitting down next to him.

"What's going on?" Clare asked again, leaning her head on his arm and wrapping her arms around his.

"Just thinking about Julia… how I could have stopped it…" Eli said sadly, his voice trailing off.

"You would have never known that this would have happened Eli, and I know it sucks, but you and I both know that Julia wouldn't want you to be so depressed about it."

"Do you…" Eli thought for a second before speaking again. The pause caused Clare to look up to him. "Do you think Julia led me to you? That maybe she knew that you would make me happy again?"

Clare smiled, "I think that that could have been a possibility." She snuggled he body a little closer to his and he wrapped arm around her shoulder.

They sat in their silence for a few minutes before Clare finally spoke up, breaking the silence that settled between them.

"Come on Eli," she started, grabbing him by his hands and pulling him up off of the picnic table, "We don't need to be late for class."

Clare and Eli walked through the doors and cleared security before walking to class. Eli seemed to be a little happier. He was around Clare, and that always seemed to put him at ease, but what she didn't know was that thoughts about Julia and thoughts about Fitz were playing tag in his head. He knew he had to do something to keep his mind from doing what it was currently doing.

All through class Eli could only think about spending more time with Clare. He hated how she talked to Fitz outside of school, but he would just bite his tongue, knowing that he could potentially say the wrong thing, and the last thing he wanted right now was to be the one who pushed her into the arms of a monster. When the period ended, Eli planned to wait eagerly at the entrance to Clare's classroom. And when she exited Eli would put his arm around her shoulder, throwing the PDA rule out the window.

When Clare got to class, the first person she saw sitting in the room looked rather too similar to her best friend. When she walked into the room, she gasped, thinking it was too good to be true. The girl in question turned around to reveal her true identity, proving Clare right. The two girls ran towards each other and embraced in a hug.

"Alli, what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be across town?" Clare asked, with more than just a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Somehow I was able to convince mom and dad that I can handle myself wherever I am."

"I'm just so happy you're back Alli, I don't think you realize how crazy it has been for me without you."

"Well, I have arrived back into your life, and it's time for you to spill, everything. I haven't talked to you in so long."

"I've just been spending a bunch of time with Eli. Nothing more interesting than that."

The newly reunited pair conversed back and forth for a few minutes until the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. The teacher walked in and turned on the television so Sav and Holly J could give the morning announcements.

"Good Morning Degrassi, we are here to bring you some good news," announced Sav.

"That's right, this Friday we will be having our Spring Formal. Tickets go on sale today at lunch and you can buy them in the student council office. Come dressed to impress and ready to walk the red carpet." Holly J chimed in then the television screen flashed back to the school Logo.

"Awesome first event back and I don't have a boyfriend," Alli stated a bit annoyed.

Before Clare could reply the teacher tapped her desk to signal the beginning of class and Clare and Alli turned back to the front of the classroom, quieting down with the rest of the class almost immediately.

After class Clare saw Eli standing outside the door, waiting for her. She told Alli that she would see her later and took a step closer to her boyfriend, with a smile on his face. He seemed to be a little bit more of himself, which made Clare even happier.

"I see that Alli's back," He stated nonchalantly, "Why didn't you tell me."

"I didn't even know myself, actually, but I'm really happy."

"I can tell, I don't think I've see a smile that big on your face in a while."

Clare melted into Eli's side while he wrapped his arm around her and walked down the hallway.

"Hey, with that dance on Friday, can… can Alli come with us? She doesn't have a date."

Eli smiled and nodded his head. "Sure, but Saturday, I think we should have a date just the two of us." He said this with a little more control in his voice than usual, but Clare just chalked it up to everything going on in her head about Julia. She had a concerned look on her face, and just hoped that Eli didn't notice.

"I think a date with my boyfriend is an excellent idea," Clare answered happily, and Eli kissed the top of her head.

It was finally Friday. Clare was ecstatic to go to a dance with Eli and not have to worry about his war with Fitz. Her and Alli went dress shopping two days prior, and she was excited to show off her dress to Eli. Clare and Alli got ready at Alli's house. Clare was happy that Eli agreed to let Alli tag along with them to the dance. Eli figured that Alli knew enough to leave them alone if asked, but she would be the saving grace if he wasn't particularly up for dancing.

At 7:00 on the dot Clare heard a soft knock on Alli's front door. She quickly ran downstairs to let him in. When she opened the door there stood her well-dressed boyfriend with a smile on his face. His eyes widened when he saw Clare. He was stunned by her appearance, just the reaction she was looking for.

"Do you like it?" She asked while twirling a little.

"Of course I do," he smiled and took a step forward to give her a peck on the cheek.

Clare smiled and grabbed him by the hand and letting him in. She explained that Alli was still upstairs getting ready. The pair laughed at that the fact that nothing really changed with Alli, she was still the gil that took her time and had to make sure that she looked perfect in everything that wore. A few minutes later Alli descended the stairs looking amazing as always.

"Alli, how do you manage to out beautify me?" Clare asked playfully.

Eli wrapped his arms around Clare's waist and kissed her neck. "You will always be the most beautiful for me." Clare and Alli both smiled, but Clare felt a tinge that something was off with Eli. She still didn't want to say anything, still thinking it had something to do with the fact that today marks the two years since Julia died, she figured it had to just been a thought in his head he was trying to get rid of.

The pair made their way into the dance. Eli immediately walked over to the punch table, leaving Alli and Clare to have a chat.

"So what's going on with the two of you… things seem a bit… weird."

"Yeah, he's not usually like this, but… Julia."

"Clare, he just seems really possessive."

"I guess I do need some space. I mean, I love Eli, I really do, but sometimes I feel like he is afraid to lose me, so he tries to keep me as close and as happy as possible."

"Have you told Eli this?" Alli asked, still concerned.

"Told me what?" Eli had just walked back from the table and over to the two girls.

"Eli…" Clare started, but Eli didn't want to hear it.

"Not today Clare, please not today?" Eli asked, almost begging.

"Eli, you didn't catch what I told Alli."

"I don't need too." With that, Eli stormed out of the gym and out of the school, with Clare trailing close behind.

Clare tried to catch up to him, but he was obviously upset. She got to the bottom step of the school and she saw Eli bring Morty to life and squeal out of the parking lot. Clare immediately pulled out her cell phone and tried calling him. The first few times he hit ignore, after the 6th time he put it on silent and threw it on the seat beside him. Clare started to get worried. Alli walked outside to see what was going on and saw Clare's tear stained face. All she could do was wrap her arms around her friend. She had no words and no way to fix this.

"I'm really scared for him, Alli. This is a hard day for him anyways, and I just don't know how he is going to handle himself."

While Clare was crying to Alli, Eli made a stop at the bookstore; he ran inside and bought an antique copy of Romeo and Juliet. When he got back outside, he completely lost it, wringing the book in his hands and slamming them down on Morty. He couldn't believe that Clare was going to break up with him, she promised him forever.

Eli threw open the driver side door, and tossed himself in. He reached underneath the seat, and grabbed the bottle of anti-anxieties that his doctor prescribed him. He tossed a few of them in his mouth and swallowed them. He started Morty back up and headed towards Julia's grave. He looked over at the seat next to him and saw his phone light up and he finally decided to answer it.

"You lied to me Clare. You told me that you would never leave me."

"Eli, please, come back so we can talk about this"

"I don't need my heart shattered again Clare, I don't know how I got through it the first time."

"Eli, please, let me explain." There was silence on the other side of the line. "Eli, Eli PLEASE ANSWER ME."

Instead of hearing his voice on the other side, she heard a crash on his line of the phone. She dropped the phone from her ear and started crying again. Alli immediately put her arms back around her.

"Clare, please calm down. Tell me what happened."

"I think… I think he just crashed." Alli's jaw dropped and Clare buried her face back in her hands and started crying again. "Alli, I may never see him again."

Eli started getting woozy as he was driving. He lost the ability to talk to Clare and then he blacked out. The next thing he remembers is waking up to the sound of a firefighter trying to open up Eli's door with the Jaws of life. His head hurt, and he didn't remember where he was. He thought he was supposed to be at the dance with Clare. He started thrashing around looking for Clare, but was stopped by a paramedic.

"Calm down buddy, you are the only one in here, we have to check out that gash on your head though, ok?"

"What happened, I don't understand."

"You were in a car accident. Can you tell me your name?"

"Eli. My name is Eli, how are the other people."

The paramedic paused, he didn't want to upset Eli, so he just stated, "Don't worry about that Eli, we have to work on you right now."

Eli had to go to the hospital for good measure, have the doctors check him out, so the paramedics put him on the stretcher. He couldn't help but look in the direction of the other vehicle, and he saw a uniform similar to the one that they had to wear at Degrassi. He started freaking out, but was easily sedated by one of the paramedics.

He woke back up in the hospital room. He felt something holding his hand. He opened his eyes slightly to see who it was and squeezed the hand when he realized that it was Clare. Clare looked up from his hand she was staring at when she felt the movement.

"Eli, sweetie, can you hear me?" She asked soothingly.

"Clare?" his voice was raspy.

"Yes, Eli, I'm right here."

"What happened? Who was in the other car?"

Clare's eyes started to well up with tears. "I'm not sure I'm the one who should tell you this."

"Clare, please."

"It was Declan and Holly J."

"Wha—Are they ok?"

"Holly J is."

"What about Declan?" He asked, his voice catching.

Clare's tears started falling from her eyes, and Eli instantly knew what that meant.

"He died? I ki—I killed Declan?" he asked incredulously. "Oh my god. Why today?"

Clare knew what he meant. This was the day that Julia also died. She gripped his hand tighter. "Eli, you may not believe this, but you didn't actually hit Declan. He lost control of the car and hit you, but you passed out just before."

Eli couldn't help but let a few tears fall from his face. If it wasn't for him being on the road, Declan may not have hit anyone, and he would still be alive.


End file.
